That has a little bit to do with what has happened this offseason (the additions of center fielder Denard Span, righthander Dan Haren and reliever Rafael Soriano) but much more to do with what happened this past season (an MLB-best 98 wins in the regular season).

When putting the final touches on the soon-to-hit-newsstands Sporting News Baseball Yearbook, our team of baseball writers and editors had to forecast the 2013 World Series matchup and winner. Our official pick: Angels over Nationals. Just a few weeks later, I am more convinced than ever that Washington will beat Los Angeles in October, though SN’s Anthony Witrado still champions LA’s championship chances.

With spring training about a month away, the Nationals are drowning in depth. In fact, the biggest knock on this team is that it needs to add a lefthanded reliever. Maybe, just maybe, the Nationals can compensate for that deficiency by having three closers.

Seriously, try to find a weakness:

Offense

The team finally has the leadoff hitter it has coveted for years in Span, and he will be followed in the batting order by Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman, Bryce Harper, Adam LaRoche, Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa and Kurt Suzuki. Talk about balance, there are four righthanded hitters, three lefthanded hitters and one switch hitter in that mix.

Add Span to a group that just finished eighth in the majors in OPS and homers, ninth in batting average and 10th in runs scored, and you have a lineup capable of serious damage. Especially when you factor in the continued development of Harper and the improved health of Zimmerman (shoulder) and Werth (wrist).

Defense

The team has two legitimate center fielders in Span and Harper, as well as a guy capable of playing there effectively in Werth. In the infield, the Nationals are elite on the corners with LaRoche and Zimmerman and are solid at shortstop and second base with Desmond and Espinosa, respectively. All four infielders ranked in the top 10 at their respective positions in Ultimate Zone Rating, according to Fangraphs.com. So did Suzuki at catcher.

The Nationals finished eighth in the majors in fielding percentage last season, committing the eighth-fewest errors.

Rotation

The Nationals have subtracted the enigmatic Edwin Jackson and added the consistent (when healthy) Haren from a deep starting five that finished second in the majors with a 3.40 ERA, a .240 batting average allowed, a 1.22 WHIP and 72 wins, and sixth in strikeouts (855) in 2012.

Oh yeah, Washington also will get a full season from Stephen Strasburg, who will be under no ridiculous limitations or be affected by the stress that comes with them.

This is where the Nationals have a decisive edge over the Angels.

Bullpen

Soriano (42 saves for the New York Yankees in 2012) joins Drew Storen (43 saves in 2011) and Tyler Clippard (32 saves in 2012) as ninth-inning options. And the impressive stable of middle-innings relievers includes Craig Stammen, Ryan Mattheus, Henry Rodriguez, Christian Garcia and Zach Duke, the lone lefty following the free-agent departures of Sean Burnett, Tom Gorzelanny and Mike Gonzalez.

Bench

Even after trading Mike Morse to the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, the Nationals have the do-everything Steve Lombardozzi in reserve, along with Tyler Moore, Roger Bernadina and Wilson Ramos. And that’s assuming they don’t add another veteran to the mix.

Manager

Davey Johnson was voted Sporting News’ 2012 NL Manager of the Year by his peers, and he earned the same honors from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, among others. And he obviously won’t cave under the pressure of expectations. Remember, Johnson said before last season that he should be fired if the team failed to reach the postseason. And he’s still gainfully employed.

The Nationals arrived a year sooner than expected in 2012—something that became obvious with the botched handling of Strasburg’s innings limit and the disastrous meltdown in the ninth inning of Game 5 of the NLDS—but last season’s surprising surge to a major league-best 98 wins means they gained a valuable year of experience.

Sure, there will be injuries, slumps and unexpected hurdles during the upcoming 162-game regular season and month-long postseason. But looking at this team on paper, where is the weakness?